The night before the promotion

Chapter 26 Spell
Reconstructing clear consciousness from chaos is an extremely difficult and painful task.

……

Since Zhou Si became a qualified candidate for the Ascension Project, he frequently underwent various mental stress tests, trying to keep his self-awareness clear and rational in increasingly extreme environments.

Qualified candidates often refer to this stress test as torture, and joke that if they lived in wartime, they would definitely be spy kings who would never betray their organization even if they died.

Some people question the correctness of the stress test. They think that Chen Wen Ge is a psychopath who just wants to torture them in this way. Others think that stress testing is a wrong direction.

Under high-intensity mental pressure, there is only a thin line between sanity and madness. The more mentally stable a person is, the more likely he is to be a potential maniac.

However, these noises failed to stop Chen Wen Ge's research. After all, he is Chen Wen Ge, the god of technology leading this era.

Chen Wen Ge's every word and action is like an oracle. He doesn't need to do anything. The praises from his fanatical admirers are enough to leave only one voice in the world.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Zhou Si always managed to keep his inner peace. Anyone would have shown signs of mental breakdown, but Zhou Si alone, his consciousness was like a beacon in the raging waves, never trembling at all.

"Zhou Si, you are my best student."

Chen Wen Ge once commented on Zhou Si in this way and placed high hopes on him.

Zhou Si didn’t care about Chen Wen Ge’s evaluation. He just regarded the stress test as a kind of "cultivation" and "practice" that allowed him to better control himself, just like manipulating a skilled tool.

So, in an unrememberable dream, the chaotic consciousness recalled the name "Zhou Si".

Zhou Si opened his eyes.

What meets the eye is a dark blue world, and a slightly cool touch comes over the body, as if the whole person is immersed in a constant temperature swimming pool.

However, before Zhou Si had time to process the external information he had taken in, a sharp pain in his brain made him close his eyes again and clench his fists instinctively.

The essence of life can be seen as the continuity of consciousness.

Zhou Si didn’t know how long he had been unconscious. He just felt like a mobile phone that had been reconnected to the Internet. His current consciousness was connected to his past memories, and countless pop-up windows lit up on the phone screen.

An empty viaduct, a deadly incarnation of a killer, burning vehicles, and the never-ending song.

Zhou Si’s head was about to explode.

“How can we efficiently reconstruct our consciousness and keep ourselves awake? It’s very simple. We just need to firmly identify who we are.”

Chen Wen Ge's teachings rang in my ears, just like the guidance for novices in a game.

"In many myths and legends, names are magical. Similarly, in modern society, names also establish the existence of each of us. But I say that this is not enough.

The information represented by a name is really too complicated, like a hyperlink, a collection of your personal resume, social relationships, etc. ”

Chen Wen Ge's voice was very close, as if he was whispering in Zhou Si's ear.

"What we need is a more concise anchor, a hint, like a magical mantra, when you whisper it again and again, even in the midst of a chaotic storm, you will immediately remember who you are."

Zhou Si silently recited the spell in his heart.

"██████."

The pain in his mind faded away, the noisy clamor ceased, and Zhou Si opened his eyes again, as if waking up from a long dream.

"where is this?"

Zhou Si was unable to finish his words as something filled his mouth and went into his throat. The obvious foreign body sensation made Zhou Si instinctively want to vomit.

He got a hold of himself.

Stretching out his hand, he felt a clearer cool sensation coming from the surface of his skin. Then, Zhou Si grabbed the bulge on the edge and used force to support his body.

Amid the splashing water, Zhou Si sat up tiredly from a water tank. He was naked, with a blue gel-like substance clinging to the surface of his skin. When it came into contact with the air, the cool feeling turned into a deep chill.

Zhou Si wiped off the gelatinous substance hanging on his eyes. This time his vision was much clearer. Looking around, he saw a number of high-tech instruments piled on one side of the water tank. The screen displayed Zhou Si's photo and a series of physical values.

The strong urge to vomit came up again.

A trachea was inserted deep into Zhou Si's throat, which reminded him of the facehugger in a horror movie.

Zhou Si tried to hold the edge of the water tank with one hand and pull out the trachea with the other hand, but as soon as his right hand grabbed the trachea, Zhou Si's body lost balance and fell back into the water tank.

Zhou Si realized belatedly that the prosthesis on his left arm had been removed.

Trying hard to resist the urge to vomit and suffocate, Zhou Si forcefully pulled the trachea out of his throat. At the same time, a large amount of gelatinous substance poured in.

Zhou Si struggled for several times in the water tank before he finally climbed up with difficulty. He lay on the edge of the water tank and vomited continuously onto the ground. A gelatinous substance mixed with his gastric juice and something like that flowed all over the floor.

The action of pulling out the tube was a bit too rough, and Zhou Si's throat felt burning with pain. This reminded him of the time many years ago when he and his ex-girlfriend had a hot pot. She deliberately tricked him into eating a handful of chili peppers. Amid her wild laughter, Zhou Si had diarrhea for several days.

"How embarrassing..."

Zhou Si thought to himself, he remained lying down for a few minutes until he recovered some strength, then he climbed out of the water tank and tore off the many electrodes on his body.

The detection equipment nearby issued a warning sound.

Zhou Si ignored the disturbing cry. A large amount of gelatinous substance stuck to his body and dripped all over the ground as his body moved.

This is a kind of biological gel that can promote flesh healing and body circulation. The water tank behind Zhou Si should be officially called a medical cabin.

Someone saved him, it should be Li Weiyu, but Zhou Si didn’t think that Li Weiyu’s financial situation could afford such a biological treatment plan for him.

Holding onto the wall, Zhou Si regained consciousness, but his body was still full of fatigue, not to mention that after removing the prosthesis of his left arm, his body's balance was broken, which made it difficult for Zhou Si to get used to it. Zhou Si leaned against the wall and touched the painful part of his body. His fingertips touched the healing scars. According to the normal healing speed of the human body, they would take at least half a month to a month, but under the biological treatment plan, the speed of tissue healing was accelerated several times.

He just hoped that the bill would not fall on him, otherwise given Zhou Si’s financial situation, his clinic would have closed down a month earlier.

I opened the door and saw the corridor was bright and empty.

Zhou Si heard the sound of footsteps coming from the end of the corridor. It should be that the doctors discovered the alarm of the instrument. According to their calculations, he should not wake up at this time.

"damn it……"

Zhou Si cursed under his breath. He didn't want to talk to the doctors about the damn treatment process. He wanted to know where he was, how long he had been unconscious, and... and that group of damn incarnation killers.

The world in his eyes became hazy and double, and Zhou Si felt that his head became very heavy, as if his neck could not hold on any longer and was about to fall off.

Figures appeared at the end of the corridor. They were doctors.

Zhou Si tried to see their faces clearly, but among the blurry faces, he caught a glimpse of a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Ruan..."

Zhou Si didn’t understand why she was here. Was she not asleep yet?
Before he got an answer, Zhou Si fell heavily and fainted.

The doctors ran over quickly, some tried to lift Zhou Si's body, while others picked up the detectors to read Zhou Si's vital signs.

"He shouldn't be awake at this hour."

A doctor was talking to herself, but in reality, she was speaking to others on purpose.

"This has nothing to do with you."

A slightly cold voice sounded, and the woman who shouldn't be here came to Zhou Si's side. She poked Zhou Si's body with her foot, causing him to turn over, revealing his face full of pain.

"It's the things Chen Wen Ge taught him that allow him to maintain a highly clear self-awareness at all times," the woman complained, "but he always ignores that no matter how strong his self-awareness is, it can't change the weakness of his body."

The woman squatted down and took out her phone to take a picture with a sense of humor. "Zhou Si, you're already in this state, can't you just get some good sleep?"

The doctor asked cautiously, "Ms. Ruan, how do we deal with this?"

"What else can we do? He has regained consciousness and will definitely try to wake up again," she replied. "Transfer him to the general ward and notify Team Leader Li to come and pick him up."

……

When Li Weiyun drove over, it was half an hour later.

Li Weiyu stood in front of the ward and looked through the observation window. He could see Zhou Si lying obediently on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, as if he was still wandering in a nightmare and had not woken up yet.

The doctors were busy beside the bed, injecting a bunch of expensive medicine into Zhou Si's body to speed up his recovery.

Li Weiyu was about to push the door open and ask about Zhou Si's specific situation, but at this moment, footsteps were heard. He turned his head and saw that disgusting face.

The woman greeted, "You're here really quickly, Team Leader Li."

"It's you……"

Li Weiyun looked at the woman warily.

The woman looked a few years younger than Zhou Si. She had short, sassy hair and no obvious makeup on her face. Her clothes were bulky workwear style, which hid her figure under the wide lapels. The first impression she gave was that she looked like an engineer.

Li Weiyun knew that this woman was not as simple as an engineer.

After Zhou Si was attacked, Li Weiyu searched for Zhou Si's location immediately and led a team to rescue him. When Li Weiyu arrived at the overpass, the woman in front of him arrived almost at the same time as them, and retrieved Zhou Si before the Supervisory Bureau.

The woman smiled and said, "Captain Li, you seem very hostile to me."

Li Weiyun said bluntly, "What do you think?"

"Don't be nervous. I've explained that, haven't I?"

The woman said, "The artificial organ implanted in Zhou Si comes from Shenwei Technology. According to our product contract, when the recipient is traumatized, the manufacturer of the artificial organ, Shenwei Technology, should provide medical services."

Li Weiyun was furious. "Do you think Shenwei Technology can snatch people from the Supervisory Bureau with this excuse?"

The woman kept smiling politely and said nothing.

Li Weiyun took a deep breath, as if he was laughing out of anger, and said, "Forget it, this is Yanyan City, and you Shenwei Technology are the masters here. I am just a team leader of the Supervisory Bureau, what can I say?"

"Please rest assured, I am as worried about Zhou Si as you are," the woman continued, "otherwise, I would not have used such expensive medical resources to treat Zhou Si."

The woman looked into the ward. "With Zhou Si's injuries at the time, he would have had to stay in the hospital for at least a few months. But with our biological treatment, he recovered in just a week. Doesn't this show my sincerity?"

Seeing that Li Weiyu still did not respond, the woman took a few steps closer and faced Li Weiyu.

"Team Leader Li, you don't seem to know me."

Li Weiyun shook his head. "You are the director of the Information Security Department of Shenwei Technology. You are young and promising. How could I not know you?"

"Oh? Is that all?" The woman glanced at Zhou Si in the ward again and continued, "It seems that Zhou Si never mentioned the relationship between him and me to you, right?"

"Let's get to know each other again," she extended her hand, "I'm Zhou Si's ex-girlfriend."

"Ruan Linrui."

(End of this chapter)